It triggers post-traumatic stress syndrome.” Second, “I wanted to show how the ‘happy’ story of even a long-term cancer survivor like me is not necessarily a story of triumphalism. She said she wanted to achieve two things.įirst, “I wanted to tell the story of how chemical pollutants are playing an under-represented role in the story of cancer.” Recently, I spoke to Steingraber and I asked her what she most wanted to accomplish in the film and book. By bringing personal story of cancer into the mix, Steingraber turns scientific facts about pollution and disease into something everyone can relate to. Not only is the research groundbreaking and impeccable, but her beautiful prose makes otherwise tedious data accessible to lay people. Now I teach Steingraber’s work every semester in my college courses. Living Downstream ultimately led me down a new path both personally and professionally, inspiring my transformation from an English professor specializing in British 18th century literature to an ecofeminist writer, activist and professor. Steingraber’s book answered my questions about the connections between pollution and cancer and opened up a new world of understanding. At that time I suspected that the cancer in my life and all around me had something to do with our poisoned environment. Indeed, Steingraber has been dubbed by many as a modern-day “Rachel Carson.”įirst published in 1997, Living Downstreamfell into my hands about 10 years ago, only a few years after my own cancer diagnosis and loss of both parents to cancer. Living Downstream follows in the tradition of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking Silent Spring. It will have its broadcast premiere in November on Outside Television. Tomorrow, October 20, at 2 p.m., Living Downstream, the film based on Sandra Steingraber’s stunning book of the same name–will show at Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center in New York City.

Living downstream by sandra steingraber